Continuous sheet dispenser and cutter



March 15, 1966 v. G. BELL. JR., ETAL CONTINUOUS SHEET DISPENSER AND CUTTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 14, 1964 ATTYS.

M31155 1966 v. G. BELL, JR., ETAL 3,240,093

CQNTINUOUS SHEET DISPENSER AND CUTTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 14, 1964 INVENTORS: VINCENT G. BEL| .,JR BY CALVIN D. CASSELL ATTYS1 United States Patent 3,240,093 CONTINUOUS SHEET DISPENSER AND CUTTER Vincent G. llcll, Jr., Straflord, Wayne, and Calvin l).

Cassell, Gardenville, Pa., assignors to Safeguard Corporation, Lansdale, Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Jan. 14, 1964, Ser. No. 337,635 4 Claims. (Cl. 83485) The present invention relates generally to dispensers for continuous rolls of sheet material and more particularly to such a dispenser incorporating a cutting device for squarely and accurately cutting desired lengths of the sheet material.

Devices in common use for dispensing rolls of sheet material are generally characterized by a serrated cutting edge against which the material is sharply drawn to effect a combined cutting and tearing action. Although such arrangements may be satisfactory for such relatively stiff sheet pro-ducts as aluminum foils, waxed papers, and the like, they are not satisfactorily adapted to the dispensing and cutting of the popular synthetic transparent ma terials such as Saran which are strong, stretchable, and which are not readily torn along a toothed-edged dispensing package.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a continuous sheet dispenser and cutter having a cutting means providing an accurate and positive cutting of the sheet without requiring tensioning or tearing of the sheet.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sheet dispenser and cutter as described in which the leading edge of the sheet roll remains visible and accessible for convenient withdrawal of sheet lengths.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a continuous sheet dispenser and cutter as described which is adaptable for wall or cabinet mounting.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a continuous sheet dispenser and cutter as described which is suitable for one-hand operation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a dispenser and cutter as described of a simple, attractive, and inexpensive design which is adapted for the safe dispensing and cutting of a variety of continuous sheet materials.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments thereof when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a dispenser and cutter embodying the present invention and containing a roll of transparent sheet material in dispensing position;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the dispenser and cutter shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the dispenser and cutter shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a first modified embodiment of the invention of a type suited for light domestic use; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a second modified embodiment of the invention adapted for heavy commercial use.

Referring to the embodiments of FIGS. 14 of the drawings, the dispenser and cutter 10 briefly includes a housing 12 which is open along the front and bottom thereof to accommodate a pivotally mounted roll-securing trough 14 within which is cradled a roll 16 of sheet material, in this instance a transparent plastic material. The sheet material is led over the front face 18 of the trough on which a hardened cutter plate 20 is mounted for coaction with a cutter wheel assembly 22 which is transversely sli-dable along the cutter guide rod 24. The cutter assembly is drawn across the cutter plate to cleanly and squarely slit the sheet material overlying the cutter plate.

Consi ering the dispenser and cutter in detail, the housing 12 is formed of a single piece of sheet material which is shaped to provide a top panel 26, a rear panel 28, and depending side panels 30. As shown most clearly in FIG. 3, the side panels 30 extend in tab portions 32 which overlap the rear panel 28 and are secured thereto such as by spot welding to provide a rigid housing structure. Holes 34 in the top panel and in the rear panel and tab portions 32 permit the mounting of the dispenser either on a vertical wall or beneath a cabinet or shelf.

The cutter guide rod 24 consisting of a length of hollow tubing, is horizontally secured between the front upper corners of the opposed side panels 30 by means of bolts 36 threaded-1y engaged within the tubing bore. The guide rod is partially enclosed by the downwardly extending flange 3% of the top panel 26.

The roll-securing trough 14 may be formed of a single sheet element and includes a floor panel 40, a back panel 42, and the front face panel 18 on which, as described above, is mounted the hardened cutter plate 20 by means of the rivets 44 or other fastening means. In the illustrated embodiment, a floor portion 46 is upwardly inclined to more nearly approximate the shape of the cylindrical roll 16 and provide a more attractive trough appearance.

The roll-securing trough 14 is pivotally' mounted within the housing 12 by means of pins 48 attached at the intersection of the floor panel and back panel and ex tending outwardly through holes in the lower rear corners of the opposed side panels 30. The trough is secured in the dispensing position by means of the latches 50 pivotally mounted beneath the floor panel adjacent the side panels 31) and adapted to coact with slots 52 in the side panels as shown most clearly in FIG. 3. An upper edge of the back panel 42 may be formed as shown at 53 in FIG. 4 to position the trough in the dispensing position to facilitate the locking of the latches 51). Vertical positioning plates 54 secured to the floor panel 40 position the roll 16 longitudinally within the trough 14 for reasons that will become presently apparent. Holes 56 in the floor panel 40 opposite the holes 34 in the top panel 26 permit access to the holes 34 from beneath the top panel.

The cutter assembly 22 includes, as shown in FIG. 2, a T-shaped cutter arm 58 having a generally cylindrical slide portion 60 bored to receive and slide freely along the guide rod 24. Extending outwardly from the cutter arm 58 is a handle 62 by means of which the cutter arm may be transversely advanced along the guide rod 24. A hardened cutter Wheel 64 is rotatably mounted beneath the cutter arm by the supporting washer 66 secured by the bolt 63. The cutter wheel 64 is shaped and mounted to provide an angled cutting edge adapted to bear against and roll along the face of the hardened cutter plate 20. The edge of the cutter wheel need not be sharpened, but may be rounded such as to a diameter .005 inch to provide a safe but effective cutter assembly. The diameter of the supporting washer 66 should be nearly the diameter of the cutting wheel 64 to further reduce the possibility of injury to the dispenser user.

For operation, the roll-securing trough 14 is pivoted to the loading position illustrated in the broken lines of FIG. 4 and a roll of sheet material 16 is inserted in the trough between the positioning plates 54. Prior to pivoting the trough into the dispensing position, the leading edge of the sheet material is drawn over the front face panel 18 of the trough in the manner shown in FIG. 1. The trough is then pivoted into the dispensing position and the latches 50 are engaged with the slots 52 to lock the trough in place. During the loading of the trough, the cutter assembly 22 must be pivoted outwardly on the .88 in engagement with the cutting roll 90.

guide rod 24 to permit the outward pivoting of the trough.

With the leading edge of the sheet material roll lead over the front face panel 18 as shown in FIG. 1, the dispenser is ready for use. By grasping the leading edge of the sheet, the material is unrolled until the portion of the material along which the cut is to be made overlies the cutter plate 20. The cutter assembly 22 is then advanced transversely along the guide rod 24 with the cutter wheel 64 in rolling engagement with the cutter plate 20 thereby severing the sheet. Because of the point contact of the cutter wheel with the cutter plate, cutting of most of the commonly used sheet products may be accomplished with only a slight pressure of the cutting wheel against the cutting plate. In most instances, the weight of the operators hand on the handle 62 rovides a suflicient bearing pressure of the cutting wheel to produce a clean cutting action.

The dispenser and cutter may be conveniently operated with one hand, by first Withdrawing the leading edge of the sheet to the desired length and then with the same hand drawing the cutter assembly across the sheet. With plastic sheet material such as Saran which tends to adhere to flat surfaces, the severed length of sheet will adhere to the lower edge of the cutter plate from which it may be easily removed when needed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the positioning plates 54 serve to center the roll 16 within the trough 14 to insure that the cutting stroke of the cutter wheel 64 extends to the edges of the sheet material.

A first modified embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG. is of a light-weight construction suitable for home use. In this embodiment the housing 70 is formed of sheet material or molded plastic and includes a longi tudinal element 72 which forms the top, back and bottom of the housing. Side panels 74 are secured to the longitudinal element by screws 76. The roll of sheet material 78 is supported by the trough-shaped bottom panel 81 of the element 72 which permits free unrolling movement thereof.

A cutter assembly guide rod 82 is secured parallel with the roll of sheet material 78 between the upper front corners of the opposed side panels 74. A cutter assembly 84 is slidably mounted on the guide rod 82 for hori- Zontal movement therealong and includes handle 86 and hardened cutter wheel 88.

A cutting roll 90 is removably mounted between the side panels 74 by means of the pin 92 extending from each end of the cutting roll in engagement with the slot 94 in each side panel 74. For operation, the web of sheet material 96 is led from the roll 78 over the cutting roll 90 and is pulled outwardly and downwardly until the desired sized sheet is obtained, at which point the cutter assembly 84 is drawn across the web with the cutter wheel Operation of the embodiment is thus seen to be quite similar of that of the embodiment described above, the primary difference residing in the use of a cutting roll to facilitate unwinding of the sheet web as well as to provide a constantly changing cutting surface such that the cutter wheel does not tend to groove the cutting surface. In addition, this embodiment presents a cutter assembly which is inclined at an angle such that the operators hand pressure on the handle 86 insures a firm bearing force of the cutting wheel on the cutting roll.

A further modified embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 6 and is of a type particularly adapted to heavy duty commercial use. This embodiment includes upper and lower housing members 98 and 1120 within which a large-sized roll of sheet material 102 is rotatably disposed on support rolls 1114. A cutter assembly 6 is slidable parallel with the roll 102 along guide rod 108. .The cutter assembly is similar to those described above and includes a handle 110 and cutter wheel 112. Means are provided for insuring the advance of the sheet material 114 in a parallel manner, the means comprising a 4 curved guide surface 116, a serrated feed assist roller 118 and a cutter plate 120 located beneath the cutter wheel 112 for coaction therewith. The guide surface 116, feed assist roller 118 and cutter plate 120 extend along the full width of the sheet material.

The operation of this heavy duty embodiment is similar in many respects to the operation of the embodiments described above. However, additional features are provided to prevent the uneven advance of material from the roll, a problem which is particularly troublesome in dispensing the highly stretchable synthetic sheet materials such as Saran. To promote an even feed of the material, the support rolls 104 serve to reduce the pulling force necessary to advance the web 114. The teeth of the serrated feed assist roller 118, which as illustrated extend slightly above the cutter plate 120 and feed surface 116, engage the web 114 and insure the parallel advance of the web from the roll 102. The sheet is then cut to the desired length by movement of the cutter assembly 186 in the manner described above. The cutter assembly in this instance is disposed at a nearly horizontal angle such that a maximum cutting pressure may be effected between the cutter wheel 112 and cutter plate 120 by the downward force of the operators hand on the cutter assembly handle 11%. In this manner, heavy gauge sheets may be accurately cut with a minimum amount of effort.

Manifestly, changes in details of construction can be effected by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in and limited solely by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A dispenser and cutter for rolls of sheet material comprising a housing including means for supporting a roll of sheet material, a freely rotatable cutting roller on said housing parallel to the roll of sheet material and over which the sheet material is adapted to roll upon withdrawal from the dispenser, a cutter assembly mounted on said housing adapted for actuation along said cutting roller, said cutter assembly including a cutter wheel adapted for cooperative engagement with the cutting roller to etfect a cutting of the sheet material overlying said cutting roller and under said cutter wheel.

2. The invention as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cutter assembly is located above said cutting roller such that a downward force may be readily applied to said cutting assembly to effect the desired cutting pressure between the cutter wheel and the cutting roller.

3. The invention as claimed in claim 1 wherein said housing includes opposed side panels, a trough-shaped bottom panel extending between said side panels for supporting said sheet of material, and means removably supporting said cutting roller between said side panels in a position which prevents forward movement of said roll of material.

4. The invention as claimed in claim 3 wherein said means removably supporting said cutting roller comprises pins extending coaxially from the ends of said roller, and slots in said housing side panels adapted to receive said pins.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,334,757 11/1943 Ensminger 225--54 2,579,149 12/1951 Krueger 22554 2,695,057 11/1954 Krueger 83-649 2,823,969 2/1958 Traver 83-649 3,143,023 8/1964 Addin 83485 3,159,188 12/1964 Da Costa 83-485 WILLIAM W. DYER, IR., Primary Examiner.

J. L. SEITCHIK, L. B. TAYLOR, Assistant Examiners. 

1. A DISPENSER AND CUTTER FOR ROLLS OF SHEET MATERIAL COMPRISING A HOUSING INCLUDING MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A ROLL OF SHEET MATERIAL, A FREELY ROTATABLE CUTTING ROLLER ON SAID HOUSING PARALLEL TO THE ROLL OF SHEET MATERIAL AND OVER WHICH THE SHEET MATERIAL IS ADAPTED TO ROLL UPON WITHDRAWAL FROM THE DISPENSER, A CUTTER ASSEMBLY MOUNTED ON SAID HOUSING ADAPTED FOR ACTUATION ALONG SAID CUTTING ROLLER, SAID CUTTING ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A CUTTER WHEEL ADAPTED FOR COOPERATIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CUTTING ROLLER TO EFFECT A CUTTING OF THE SHEET MATERIAL OVERLYING SAID CUTTING ROLLER AND UNDER SAID CUTTER WHEEL. 